Why would our Bishop come to Cook, shovel dirt and clear brush and trees from a lot? There are a number of answers to this question. First of all he didn’t come alone. The synod office was closed for the day. The entire synod staff came to work on this year’s Habitat for Humanity project in Cook.

I guess that I did notice one exception. I didn’t see Grace, the synod office cat. Grace does not have an opposable thumb, so getting her to use tools would be difficult. Training a cat to pile brush would probably only frustrate the trainer and annoy the cat.

I suppose they came because they know that a family in Cook needs a simple, decent, place to live. They simply came with the idea of helping the Jacka family make that place a reality. I think they also came to serve as an example to all of us.

I don’t often quote from the book of James, but today I will. In the second chapter of James there is an interesting question. In verses

15 and 16 the author writes, “If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?” I suppose we could extend that question to housing. If a brother or sister is living in inadequate housing and we tell them to have a nice day but do nothing about their housing situation, what is the good of that?

On Thursday, August 18th, we started building a simple, decent, home for a family in Cook. We had a ground breaking ceremony. We started clearing brush from a lot, and we started building a shed. We will use the shed to house our tools and materials until we have the house framed and enclosed. Once the house is finished the family will use the shed as they see fit. Most families keep lawn mowers, bicycles, and miscellaneous other things in their sheds.

Sharon Jacka will spend hundreds of hours working on her home before it is complete. I would guess that at least 100 volunteers, including Bishop Peter Strommen and the entire NEMN synod staff will add their labor to Sharon’s in working on this home. This is more useful than simply telling Sharon and her family to have a nice day.

Later in the fall, a crew will gather at the St. Mark’s parking lot. We will set out for Cook and spend a day working on this same home. If you join us for that day, you will be following our Bishop’s example. St. Mark’s is also sponsoring a concert to raise money to purchase materials for this home. I encourage you to come to the concert, bring a friend along, and make a generous free will offering to help this project along.

The concert is Sunday, September 11th at 3:00 P.M. I hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

Pastor Birk